This invention pertains to switching power converters. A specific example of a power converter is a DC-DC power supply that draws 100 watts of power from a 48 volt DC source and converts it to a 5 volt DC output to drive logic circuitry. The nominal values and ranges of the input and output voltages, as well as the maximum power handling capability of the converter, depend on the application.
It is common today for switching power supplies to have a switching frequency of 100 kHz or higher. Such a high switching frequency permits the capacitors, inductors, and transformers in the converter to be physically small. The reduction in the overall volume of the converter that results is desirable to the users of such supplies.
Another important attribute of a power supply is its efficiency. The higher the efficiency, the less heat that is dissipated within the supply, and the less design effort, volume, weight, and cost that must be devoted to remove this heat. A higher efficiency is therefore also desirable to the users of these supplies.
A significant fraction of the energy dissipated in a power supply is due to the on-state (or conduction) loss of the diodes used, particularly if the load and/or source voltages are low (e.g. 3.3, 5, or 12 volts). In order to reduce this conduction loss, the diodes are sometimes replaced with transistors whose on-state voltages are much smaller. These transistors, called synchronous rectifiers, are typically power MOSFETs for converters switching in the 100 kHz and higher range.
The use of transistors as synchronous rectifiers in high switching frequency converters presents several technical challenges. One is the need to provide properly timed drives to the control terminals of these transistors. This task is made more complicated when the converter provides electrical isolation between its input and output because the synchronous rectifier drives are then isolated from the drives of the main, primary side transistors. Another challenge is the need to minimize losses during the switch transitions of the synchronous rectifiers. An important portion of these switching losses is due to the need to charge and discharge the parasitic capacitances of the transistors, the parasitic inductances of interconnections, and the leakage inductance of transformer windings.
Various approaches to addressing these technical challenges have been presented in the prior art, but further improvements are needed. In response to this need, a new power circuit topology designed to work with synchronous rectifiers in a manner that better addresses the challenges is presented here.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, a power converter comprises a power source and a primary transformer winding circuit having at least one primary winding connected to the source. A secondary transformer winding circuit has at least one secondary winding coupled to the at least one primary winding. Plural controlled rectifiers, such as voltage controlled field effect transistors, each having a parallel uncontrolled rectifier, are connected to a secondary winding. Each controlled rectifier is turned on and off in synchronization with the voltage waveform across a primary winding to provide an output. Each primary winding has a voltage waveform with a fixed duty cycle and transition times which are short relative to the on-state and off-state times of the controlled rectifiers. A regulator regulates the output while the fixed duty cycle is maintained.
In the preferred embodiments, first and second primary transformer windings are connected to the source and first and second primary switches are connected in series with the first and second primary windings, respectively. First and second secondary transformer windings are coupled to the first and second primary windings, respectively. First and second controlled rectifiers, each having a parallel uncontrolled rectifier, are in series with the first and second secondary windings, respectively. A controller turns on the first and second primary switches in opposition, each for approximately one half of the switching cycle with transition times which are short relative to the on-state and off-state times of the first and second controlled rectifiers. The first and second controlled rectifiers are controlled to be on at substantially the same times that the first and second primary switches, respectively, are on.
In a system embodying the invention, energy may be nearly losslessly delivered to and recovered from capacitors associated with the controlled rectifiers during their transition times.
In the preferred embodiments, the first primary and secondary transformer windings and the second primary and secondary transformer windings are on separate uncoupled transformers, but the two primary windings and two secondary windings may be coupled on a single transformer.
Preferably, each controlled rectifier is turned on and off by a signal applied to a control terminal relative to a reference terminal of the controlled rectifier, and the reference terminals of the controlled rectifiers are connected to a common node. Further, the signal that controls each controlled rectifier is derived from the voltage at the connection between the other controlled rectifier and its associated secondary winding.
Regulation may be through a separate regulation stage which in one form is on the primary side of the converter as part of the power source. Power conversion may then be regulated in response to a variable sensed on the primary side of the converter. Alternatively, the regulator may be a regulation stage on the secondary side of the converter, and power conversion may be regulated by control of the controlled rectifiers. Specifically, the on-state voltage of a controlled rectifier may be made larger than its minimum value to provide regulation, or the on-state duration of a controlled rectifier may be shorter than its maximum value to provide regulation.
The preferred systems include reset circuits associated with transformers for flow of magnetizing current. The energy stored in the magnetizing inductance may be recovered. In one form, the reset circuit comprises a tertiary transformer winding, and in another form it comprises a clamp.
In preferred embodiments, the power source has a current fed output, the current fed output characteristic of the power source being provided by an inductor. Alternatively, the power source may have a voltage-fed output where the voltage-fed output characteristic of the power source is provided by a capacitor. In either case, the characteristics may alternatively be provided by active circuitry.
With the preferred current-fed output, the primary switches are both turned on during overlapping periods, and the overlapping periods may be selected to achieve maximum efficiency. With the voltage-fed output, the primary switches are both turned off during overlapping periods. Additional leakage or parasitic inductance may be added to the circuit to accommodate an overlap period.
In one embodiment, a signal controlling a controlled rectifier is derived with a capacitive divider circuit. A circuit may determine the DC component of the signal controlling the controlled rectifier, and the DC component of the signal may be adjusted to provide regulation.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an ORing controlled rectifier connects the converter""s output to an output bus to which multiple converter outputs are coupled, and the ORing controlled rectifier is turned off if the power converter fails. Preferably, the signal controlling the ORing controlled rectifier is derived from one or more secondary windings. The ORing controlled rectifier is turned on when the converter""s output voltage approximately matches the bus voltage.